24th
My favorite way to spend a cold winter afternoon is in the kitchen stirring up a batch of my famous baked macaroni and cheese. I’ve been asked dozens of times to share my secret recipe, and the only reason I’ve held out for so long is that my secret is: I don’t have a recipe. I use the same basic ingredients every time I make it, but the quantities are a mystery to me, I just add what feels right. The key to a truly amazing finale is in using the best ingredients you can find. The only two cheeses I’ll ever reach for are the classic Tillamook medium cheddar, or Beecher’s flagship. You don’t want to use anything too sharp or it will separate and you’ll end up with a gritty, oily, and not very cheesy, sauce. And if you’re expecting me to post some magic ingredient that makes my mac n cheese a delicious yet healthy treat, you’re looking to the wrong girl. Don’t let my size fool you, if there’s a way to make a dish less healthy, I’ll find it. My magic ingredient is the half pint of cream that goes into every pot. In an effort to be able to document my recipe here, I actually pulled out some measuring devices the last time I made it and did as little eyeballing as possible, and here’s the recipe I came up with.
3 Tbsp. Butter
3 Tbsp. Flour
2 Cups Milk
1 Cup Cream
1 Pound Cheese, shredded
salt, pepper and nutmeg (optional)
16 oz. Box of Elbow Macaroni
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Start the sauce by melting the butter in a large shallow pot, once the butter is melted, whisk in the flour until smooth. Continue stirring over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes until it turns a lovely golden color. The objective here is to cook away any floury flavor. Slowly add the two cups of milk while continuing to whisk. After all of the milk is incorporated, add the cream in the same manner. Lower the heat to low and continue to stir the sauce until it thickens slightly, feel free to switch to a wooden spoon if you prefer to gauge your thickness by the way it coats the back of the spoon. I prefer to do less dishes so I stick with the whisk. Add salt and pepper generously and, if you like, nutmeg to taste. Once your sauce has thickened slightly, start adding your cheese a handful at a time, waiting for the previous handful to melt entirely before adding the next handful. Continue on this way until all but a handful or so of the cheese is left, reserve this for sprinkling on the top.
Meanwhile, boil your pasta in salted water according to the instructions on the box. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Slowly pour your cheese sauce over the pasta and stir to combine. Pour the cheesy pasta into a buttered casserole dish and sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top. If you like, you can also add bread crumbs that have been doused in melted butter. I personally prefer my top crust to consist of only cheese, so I leave the buttered bread crumbs out. Bake until the sauce bubbles up thickly and the top is golden, about 20 to 30 minutes.
This recipe is just a jumping off point, once you’ve mastered the cheese sauce, the possibilities are limitless. One of my favorite variations is in the addition of cauliflower, simply toss in with your pasta when it has about 6 minutes left to boil. Another delicious variation is substituting fontina and gruyere for the cheddar, and bowties for the elbows, and adding peas and chopped prosciutto.
